One example of a method for performing compression encoding on 3D video images is MPEG-4 MVC (Multi-view Video Coding), which is the revised MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 standard (Non-Patent Literature 1). Using the compression encoding method in the MPEG-4 MVC format allows for creation of video streams for 3D video images with a high compression rate.
Video streams in the MPEG-2 format are currently used in digital television broadcasting in Japan and the United States of America. In order to provide 3D video images in digital television broadcasting while ensuring playback of 2D video images in existing playback devices, one option is to deliver video streams in the MPEG-4 MVC format in addition to video streams in the MPEG-2 format, for example.